SONY LAUNCHES 2 NEW E-READERS, NIKON RELEASES A CAMERA WITH A
PROJECTOR BUILT IN, AND WHICH U.S. PRESIDENT IS TWITTERING FROM
HIS GRAVE? WE'LL TELL YOU ALL ABOUT IT. ITS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST
5TH. I'M NATALI DEL CONTE AND IT'S TIME TO GET LOADED.
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SONY LAUNCHED TWO NEW E-READERS TODAY AND ONE OF THEM IS
ONLY $199. THE READER POCKET EDITION HAS A 5-INCH DISPLAY AND
CAN HOLD UP TO 350 BOOKS. THE BATTERY IS SUPPOSED TO LAST UP TO 2
WEEKS. IT COMES IN BLUE, ROSE, AND SILVER AND COSTS $199. THE
READER TOUCH HAS A 6-INCH TOUCHSCREEN DISPLAY THAT LETS YOU
TURN THE PAGE, HIGHLIGHT, AND TAKE NOTES WITH YOUR FINGER OR BY
USING THE STYLUS. IT ALSO HAS AN ONBAORD OXFORD DICTIONARY. IT
COMES IN RED, BLACK OR SILVER AND COSTS $299. BOTH OF THESE
READERS COME WITH THE EBOOK LIBRARY SOFTWARE THAT FINALLY
WORKS WITH MAC! THEY WILL BOTH SHIP AT THE END OF AUGUST. STILL
NO WIRELESS DOWNLOADING SERVICE THOUGH.
[*]
SOCIAL BOOKMARKING SITE DELICIOUS GOT A MAKEOVER THIS WEEK.
THE SITE NOT COMBINES RECENTLY TAGGED LINKS WITH TWITTER POSTS
TO SHOW YOU "THE HOTTEST NEWS FROM AROUND THE WEB IN REAL
TIME." FOR EXAMPLE, YESTERDAY MORNING THE MOST TAGGED STORY
WAS ABOUT BILL CLINTON'S TRIP TO KOREA. UNDER THAT STORY WAS A
COLLECTION OF TWEETS ABOUT THAT STORY. I FIND THIS SLIGHTLY
INTERESTING BUT NOT A HUGE VALUE ADD. I USE DELICIOUS MORE AS A
SOURCE FOR MY OWN BOOKMARKS, NOT A PORTAL INTO THE MOST
POPULAR NEWS AND I'M NOT SURE HOW MUCH I CARE ABOUT THE
TWITTER CONVERSATION AROUND A GIVEN STORY. I THINK A SMARTER
INTEGRATION FOR DELICIOUS WOULD BE WITH YAHOO BUZZ. AFTER ALL
YAHOO DOES OWN DELICIOUS.
[*]
GOOGLE UPDATED STREET VIEW AND LAUNCHED NEW THEMES FOR ITS
CHROME BROWSER. THE UPDATED STREET VIEW NOW INCLUDES BEHIND-
THE-SCENES INFORMATION ON THOSE INFAMOUS VANS THAT RUN
AROUND CAPTURING THE WORLD IN THE NAME OF GOOGLE MAPS. YOU
CAN LEARN WHERE THE VEHICLES CURRENTLY ARE (SO YOU CAN HIDE
FROM THEM), THE STORY BEHIND THE PEGMAN MASCOT, HOW LONG IT
TAKES TO COMPILE THESE MAPS, AND MORE. FOR CHROME, GOOGLE
LAUNCHED 29 NEW THEMES SO THAT YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE YOUR
BROWSING EXPERIENCE. THE COMPANY IS ALSO LOOKING TO ADD
BOOKMARKING TO THE BROWSER IN UPCOMING RELEASES.
[*]
IF YOU WONDER WHY YOUR MARINE BOYFRIEND OR GIRLFRIEND IS NOT
RESPONDING TO YOUR FACEBOOK MESSAGES, IT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE
NOT ALLOWED. THE U.S. MARINE CORPS HAVE BANNED TWITTER,
FACEBOOK, MYSPACE AND ANY OTHER SOCIAL NETWORK, EFFECTIVE
IMMEDIATELY. THE ORDER STATES THAT SOCIAL NETWORKS CREATE "A
LARGER ATTACK AND EXPLOITATION WINDOW, EXPOSE UNNECESSARY
INFORMATION TO ADVERSARIES, AND PROVIDE AN EASY CONDUIT FOR
INFORMATION LEAKAGE." THE BAN WILL LAST FOR AT LEAST A YEAR.
[*]
MEANWHILE THE MILITARY CAN USE GOOGLE VOICE TO KEEP IN TOUCH
WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY. GOOGLE OPENED THE SERVICE UP TO
ANYONE SERVING ACTIVELY. ALL YOU NEED TO GET YOUR ACCOUNT
APPROVED IS A .MIL EMAIL ADDRESS. THIS IS OF COURSE THE GOOGLE
SERVICE THAT FORWARDS YOUR CALLS TO ANY PHONE NUMBER OF
YOUR CHOOSING AND TRANSCRIBES YOUR VOICEMAILS INTO EMAILS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MILITARY ACTIVATION, GO TO
GOOGLE.COM/MILITARYINVITE.
[*]
YESTERDAY APPLE LAUNCHED THE ITUNES MUSIC STORE IN MEXICO. THE
MUSIC STORE LAUNCHED WITH A SELECTION OF MEXICAN AND
INTERNATIONAL MUSIC, ALL THE MAJOR LABELS, AND HUNDREDS OF
INDEPENDENT LABELS AS WELL. MOST SONGS ARE PRICED AT 12 PESOS
AND ALBUMS AT 120 PESOS, WHICH IS NOT TO FAR OFF FROM WHAT WE
PAY HERE IN THE U.S.
[*]
IN OTHER APPLE NEWS, THERE ARE RUMORS THAT THE COMPANY WANTS
TO TURN ITUNES INTO SOMEWHAT OF A PAYPAL COMPETITOR, THIS
MEANS THAT YOU WOULD USE YOUR ITUNES ACCOUNT TO BUY THINGS
BEYOND JUST MUSIC. ALREADY YOU BUY NON-APPLE-RELATED
PRODUCTS ON IPHONE WITH YOUR ITUNES ACCOUNT BUT TAKING THIS
BEYOND IPHONE AND TO THE WEB WOULD BE A MAJOR PARADIGM SHIFT
FOR APPLE. I DON'T REALLY THINK THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN BUT ITS
INTERESTING TO CONSIDER.
[*]
THE PALM PRE IS COMING TO CANADA. THE PHONE WILL LAUNCH
EXCLUSIVELY ON BELL ON AUGUST 27. IT WILL COST $199 WITH A THREE-
YEAR CONTRACT OR $599 WITHOUT A CONTRACT. THREE YEAR
CONTRACT? WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?
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FORGET PICO PROJECTORS. CHECK OUT THIS NEW NIKON COOLPIX. IT HAS
AN LED-POWERED PROJECTOR BUILT IN THAT WILL DISPLAY 40-INCH
IMAGES FOR SLIDESHOWS WITH MUSIC, EFFECTS, AND TRANSITIONS. IT IS
ALSO A 12.1 MEGAPIXEL CAMERA WITH A 5 TIMES WIDE ANGLE ZOOM. IT
IS NOT CHEAP THOUGH. IT IS $430 AND WILL GO ON SALE IN SEPTEMBER.
AT CES THIS YEAR WE SAW SEVERAL PICO PROJECTORS FOR DISPLAYING
IMAGES LIKE THIS BUT WE DIDN'T THINK PEOPLE WOULD BUY THEM AS
STAND-ALONE DEVICES. LOOKS LIKE WE WERE RIGHT: THESE
PROJECTORS ARE COMING TO A GADGET NEAR YOU.
[*]
IF YOU ARE THE KIND OF PERSON THAT APPRECIATES HISTORICAL RE-
ENACTMENTS, YOU MIGHT WANT TO FOLLOW @JQADAMS_MHS. THIS IS
THE OFFICIAL TWITTER ACCOUNT FOR JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, THE
SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. YES I KNOW HE IS DEAD BUT
THE MASSACHESETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY LAUNCHED A TWITTER
ACCOUNT FOR HIM ANYWAY AFTER A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT NOTICED
THAT HIS JOURNAL ENTRIES WERE VERY TWITTER-LIKE. THEY ARE RE-
PURPOSING THESE ENTRIES INTO TWEETS, IN THEIR ORIGINAL FORM.
KIND OF A FUN FOLLOW BUT IF YOU AT-REPLY HIM, HE WON'T BE
REPLYING BACK TO YOU. I AM PRETTY SURE YOU CAN'T TWITTER FROM
THE GRAVE.
[*]
THOSE ARE ALL OF YOUR HEADLINES FOR TODAY. THANK YOU FOR
WATCHING. I'M NATALI DEL CONTE WITH CNET TV AND YOU'VE JUST
BEEN LOADED.
